The Sunset cross country program, in its recent Miles That Matter fundraiser, collected nearly $10,000 for the Shriners Hospital as well as $5,000 for the high school program itself.

As of today, we've far surpassed our fundraising goal of $10,000," said Sunset head cross country coach Dan Neeway. "We have gone past the $14,000 mark with money still coming in. It's possible that we might have another $1,000 that would give us the chance to cut a $10,000 check to Shriners Hospitals for Children."

The Miles that Matter fundraiser itself started at 5 p.m. back on Aug. 15, and continued until 5 p.m. the following day (Aug. 16). And throughout that 24-hour period, the Apollos did what they do best - they ran. They started running on Aug. 15 and continued throughout the afternoon, evening and night under the lights on the Sunset High School track before finishing on the afternoon of Aug. 16.

Collectively, the cross country team, Sunset alumni, coaches and family members ran for 24 hours straight and racked up a total of 1,140 miles for their causes.

"It was a great success," Neeway said. "There was always someone running. The late-night hours were basically a party for the alumni. Whole families put in miles during the evening hours on Friday and the morning hours on Saturday. It was really neat to see."

Neeway said that the fundraiser’s goal was to raise $10,000, half of which will go to Shriners Hospital for Children and half directly supporting the Sunset cross country program. Even better for the Shriners, however, was that any additional funds raised beyond the $10,000 goal would go entirely to Shriners Hospital for Children.

“While $5,000 is a substantial donation to Shriners Hospital for Children, we are committed to exceeding our goal (since) they have done so much for us and our community,” Neeway said in his original press release. “We are a running group and that's what Shriners does - they give kids the chance to be able to walk and run who might not have that opportunity otherwise.”

Next up, Sunset will host a pep rally on Friday, Sept. 12, where representatives of the Apollos cross country program will hand the Shriners a check that will reflect the event's final tally.

For its part, the Sunset cross country program will use its portion of the money raised to help cover team travel expenses, provide scholarship opportunities for Team Camp and other activities, provide athletic wear for teammates in need, and pay for coaching education.

The Sunset cross country program is still able to accept donations and will send a receipt to anyone who requests one. For more information, email Neeway at Daniel_Neeway@beaverton.k12.or.us